


I’ll hold you when things go wrong

by maeshmolowa



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, And soulmates provide, Camper/Counselor shippers don’t interact, Everything’s platonic but you can see any on them as ships if you want to (not camper/counselor), Gen, Max Needs a Hug (Camp Camp), MomGwen, Platonic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, There’s cursing but it’s Camp Camp, There’s time travel babey, dadvid, so you should expect that, thats yucky, they’re like a big family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maeshmolowa/pseuds/maeshmolowa
Summary: Soulmarks. They represented your soul family, who would help you whenever you needed someone. The people that would mean the most to you. Not everyone had them, and when they did, they had around three of maybe five.Max had twelve. One for him, the rest were his soulmates. They wrap around his arms like tiny tattoos. Six on his right and six on his left.
Relationships: David & Max (Camp Camp), Gwen & Max (Camp Camp), Max & Everyone (Camp Camp), Max & Nikki (Camp Camp), Max & Science Camp Neil & Nikki (Camp Camp), Max & Science Camp Neil (Camp Camp)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 130





	1. twelve of them

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Family You Choose](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20383669) by [TunaFishChris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TunaFishChris/pseuds/TunaFishChris). 



Max had twelve soulmarks, they rolled down his arms like tiny tattoos. There were six on his right and six on his left. His right held a tiny bear (that one was his, it matched Mr. Honeynuts), a bandanna, a glove, a beaker, a skull, and a paint splatter. His left had a star, a wolf head, a pencil, a boxing glove, a pair of sunglasses, and a die. He knew about soulmarks, that was common knowledge, but he didn’t know anything else till he met one.

He met the first one when he was playing with legos. There was a simple design he wanted to do but couldn’t find the right pieces. An invisible hand guided his own over to the right piece. He had been confused, but it hadn’t bothered him that much, so he let them help him. Max asked his teacher the next day, when he had come running up and pointing excitedly to his be-dazzled arms. She told him that his soulmate were like his family, and they would watch over you, their spirits appearing when you needed it. Max found it amazing, smiling down at his arms with a fond expression. He couldn’t wait to meet them.

Max met his second soulmate when he was walking back from school. He was humming softly, kicking tiny stones as he made his was down the sidewalk. He turned towards the road, ready to cross. As he stepped onto the darker concrete, he felt arms yank him back as a car went speeding by. He stumbled backwards as he took a moment to get everything together. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, almost if they were checking to make sure he was okay. Max looking backwards, but saw no one. It clicked in his mind as he realized.

“Oh, you’re one of my soulmates.” He said quietly. They tapped his shoulder excitedly. They felt bubbly and carefree. “Well, hi?” Max tried. “It’s nice to meet you?” Bubbly ruffled his hair. Max laughed and turned back to the road. “I do have to get home though.” He pushed himself up and brushed the dirt off, before he stepped onto the road, Bubbly tapped on both his shoulders, seemingly reminding him to look both ways. He did, and he made his way back home.

He met Wolfie about a week later, when he was laying in the backyard. She tapped along his arms and pushed him towards a small ant hill. Max sighed and let an ant crawl along his arm, as his soulmate shook his arm excitedly. That was what Wolfie did, she guided him towards cool things to look at, or they would sometimes annoy him with little taps out of nowhere. She always had a little disappointed vibe whenever he wouldn’t roll in the dirt though. Wolfie would play with Max whenever the other kids ignored him, teaching him to climb trees and how many blueberries he can fit in his mouth. 

Then there was Shakey, who’s hands were always cold and, of course, shakey. He would help Max with his work sometimes, helping him figure out where each thing went and whatnot. He would sometimes try to drag Max out whenever Wolfie tried to get him in too much trouble. Bubbly would help with that too. Shakey would always give Max a reassuring pat on the back whenever he got in trouble, while Wolfie would grab his arm and be shaking like she was laughing. Sometimes Wolfie and Shakey would both help him with little schemes while Bubbly tried to drag them out of it.

Max met all of his soulmates eventually. He met Dice when he was playing with a pair of dice he found, and she taught him how to roll them right. 

Card would always play board games with him, usually fighting with Dice. Card would sometimes teach him simple magic tricks. He learned a few card tricks before he lost the cards.

Max’s first meeting with Brush was when he was painting in class, Brush guided his hand toward the colors that would go the best together, and away from the colors that would usually end up as brown. 

Music helped him pick the best movies, they usually had a bunch of songs and sometimes romance, Music would tap on his shoulders to the beat of the songs. 

Chill helped him fix an old broken skateboard Max found stored in the garage, when it was fixed she taught him how to ride it. 

Stars would push him towards the window when it was late, encouraging him to look at the stars, and bouncing up and down when he did.

Tired would give him little pats and squeeze his shoulders whenever his parents would ignore him, or try to cheer him up when he was feeling sad. 

Strong and Wolfie would try to pull him up whenever the other kids would push him to the ground, trying to get him to fight back against them. His other soulmates were always there too, placing a hand on his back or giving him encouraging head pats. Whenever he did fight back, he was sent to the office, his soulmates still there giving him little taps and pats to show they were still there. Whenever he didn’t, his soulmates would give him pats and shoulders squeezes to comfort him as the kids taunted him, giving him hugs when he hid away. 

Bubbly gave the best hugs, and the most hugs, Tired didn’t give them as much, but when she did, they were pretty great. 

Sometimes Tired and Bubbly would show him how to make simple meals when his parents forgot to make food for him.

Max’s soulmates were also great at cheering him up or distracting him when his parents ignored him, like directing him towards the pile of board games, or the TV. As he got older, it didn’t work as well. He learned he can do things and his parents won’t care. He could get in trouble and they wouldn’t bat an eye unless it affected them. 

He didn’t interact with his soulmates as much, shrugging them off when they tried to direct him towards the games or the backyard, ignoring suggestions when he was on the TV. Whenever they did help, Max would mumble a simple ‘thanks.’ and move on. 

One day he tried just ignoring them completely. After all, there’s a ton of people that don’t have any, and they do fine. They didn’t like that, they tried latching onto his arms or ruffling his hair. He kept ignoring them. They kept doing it. Max finally cracked Bubbly wrapped him in a tight hug. He tried to wiggle out of, but Bubbly didn’t let go. His other soulmates joined the hug, piling on top of each other, careful not to knock him over. He finally hugged them back, hoping they didn’t notice the tears pricking his eyes.

That was the last good moment for a long while. Kids would start to make fun of his soulmarks to the point where he started wearing hoodies to hide them. His soulmates tried to protest against this, but none of their attempts ever worked. Max would stay quiet, disappearing into the background. Ignoring the tapping of his soulmates completely. 

It worked, for the most part, but apparently his parents noticed him just enough to send him away to a summer camp. His soulmates were excited, more than they usually were about things, tapping his arm and shaking him back and forth. He swatted at thin air and they simmered down.

“Summer Camp?” Max mumbled. “I don’t want to go to a fucking summer camp!” 

“Too bad.” His mother said, holding out a pamphlet to him. He felt Bubbly shake his arm. Max scoffed and snatched the paper from her. “You’re leaving in a week, pack your stuff.” She turned back to her computer and waved him off.

Max shoved the pamphlet into his pocket and went down to his room. He threw the door closed behind him and flopped down onto his bed. His soulmates tapped him excitedly, poking his pocket.

“Fine, fine!” Max sighed, reaching out and grabbing the pamphlet. He opened it and read it aloud. “Camp Campbell, the perfect place for your child to spend their summer, with a large variety of activities and absolutely no danger.” Max raised an eyebrow. He shrugged.

“I don’t get it. What’s so special about this camp that’s getting you guys so excited.” They didn’t say anything, since they obviously couldn’t, they just gave him tiny hugs and pulled at his arms. Max sighed and grabbed a bag, stuffing his hoodies in first.


	2. a friend from summer one

A week passed and Max was on his way to Camp Campbell, sitting in the back of its bus. 

There were a few other kids, a girl with black hair tied up in a ponytail, a boy with fluff brown hair, and another with blond. They all were wearing yellow shirts, which Max assumed was the camp t-shirt, since he had to wear one too. He wore it under his hoodie, which covered up the bright color and the marks along his arms. 

If the kids here never knew about it, they could never make fun of them. He watched the trees go by as he waited for the bus to get to camp.

The first thing Max saw when the bus pulled up was a tall red-headed guy looking like he was about to explode with excitement. He felt a nudge from one of his soulmates, he couldn’t tell if it was Bubbly or Tired. The red head welcomed the ponytail girl and the blond guy, who both looked a little confused, then turned to Max and the kid with the brown fluffy hair as they got off the bus as well.

“And you two must be Max and Chuckie!” He said in a cheery tone. The boy, ‘Chuckie’, nodded and Max shrugged. “My name is David, and welcome to Camp Campbell!”

Max and Chuckie became the camp’s resident troublemakers. They hatched schemes left and right, try to tip David and Gwen over their tipping point.

Bubbly and Tired were against this, trying to get them to stop, but they were always no match to the encouragement of the nine others. 

Wolfie showed them how to fill the counselors pillows with ants.

Shakey taught him how to build a Rube Goldberg machine, with help from several others.

Dice taught him how to play DND whenever he was bored, Chuckie sometimes played with him.

Music showed him different shows that would distract Gwen, on some days, Tired would help. 

Bubbly tried to get him to participate in the activities with the other campers, but he was rarely ever successful. 

The topic of Soulmates had come up once, when Max and Chuckie we’re preparing a trap. Chuckie’s hand was still bandaged up from the last time they destroyed something, so Max had to help him with some things. His sleeve had slipped, and Chuckie saw one of the marks.

“You have soulmarks?” He whispered. Max quickly pulled back his sleeves.

“Yeah, don’t you dare tell anyone.” Max hissed. He paused for a moment. “Do you have any?” Chuckie shook his head.

“Nope. My sister has some though, I’ve always thought that they’re cool. She told me that they kinda watch over you. Until you soulbond or whatever.” He hummed.

“Soulbond?” Max mused. He hadn’t heard that before.

“Oh, yeah! It’s this thing where you and your soulmate prick your palm, I think, and then you shake hands.” He intertwined his hands. Chuckie paused, like he was trying to remember something. “Then...ok, you’re sent through their life, but like, as a ghost or something, and you appear whenever your soulmate needs you, and you can help and interact with them! Just them though.” He nodded, like he was wrapping up a story. 

“Your spirit or whatever goes through all that time, but only a few seconds actually pass.” He paused, the turned to Max with a smile. “How many do you have? Have you met any of them in person yet?” Chuckie asked.

“Uhh..” Max murmured, tugging at the ends of his sleeves. “I.. haven’t met any of them in person yet, I don’t think.”  
Chuckie nodded, then continued to go on about it, even though they would probably get caught if they didn’t finish the trap soon.

Tired and Bubbly both placed their hands on his shoulders. Maybe they knew Chuckie.

The trap didn’t work. It would have successfully caught David if Gwen hadn’t pulled him back at the last second. And they had to clean it all up. That wasn’t fun. 

Shakey gave him a reassuring pat, and Wolfie leaned on him as she shook with laughter. Max pushed her away, only to receive an arm slung around his shoulders. He sighed and decided to leave it be.

Through the rest of the summer, Max and Chuckie pulled countless pranks and caused the counselors to get hurt more than once, definitely. He soulmates helped with many, showing him different ways to try and drive Gwen and David over the edge. After a huge scheme they pulled, Chuckie disappeared. 

David had said his parents picked him up, and when he’d asked Gwen, she’d looked a bit nervous, but she gave the same answer. It didn’t seem like the full answer, but Max doubted he’d get any other one. Tired gave him a hug, and while Max was confused, he’d accepted the rare gesture. 

The constant trouble continued to the end of summer, like it always would, and he’d gave a tiny wave to the camp after some encouragement from Bubbly. He sat in the back seat of the car as the camp grew smaller. Max couldn’t see them, but he could tell his soulmates were waving goodbye to the camp as well.

The school year was the same as always. Max tries to disappear and avoid the others, it works sometimes, other times when it doesn’t and he get plenty of hugs from his soul family. 

Caving and playing board games with them, even if he has to move the pieces for them (Monopoly is a disaster, but it’s fun).  
They always console him when he wakes up in the middle of the night, patting his back and giving hugs.  
The year has some downsides, but with the help of his soulmates, it’s almost bearable.

He groans when he finds another Camp Campbell pamphlet laying on his bed, but packs his stuff anyway. His soulmates can barley contain their excitement.


	3. the chapter where max’s soulmates WON’T FUCKING CALM DOWN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is shorter, I’m sorrrry,,, but hey!! I finally updated!! yay me

Max’s soulmates are even more excited this time than the first time around. They poked and pulled at his arms like they wanted him to roll his sleeves down. He shoved his hands further into his pockets and gave the nothingness a glare. He knew they saw him. 

They also seemed weirdly excited about the other kids on the bus. Though, looking around, it was only a kid with a cloak, another with a streak of purple in her hair, and a kid dressed as a magician. They just seemed like normal kids. 

When he hopped off the bus, David greeted him with his ever persistent happy attitude, which Max of course returned with a scowl. David’s smile didn’t falter as he led them to the mess hall, where Gwen was trying to calm down a couple of kids. One was reciting musical lines, and another was flying a couple sticks around. He felt Star and Music tapping his arm, which he ignored. 

In the next few days, more kids arrived, a kid with a head of red hair, and another with a bag full of art supplies. After a few days of boring camp activities and soulmates that wouldn’t stop bothering him, two more kids arrived. A nerd and a wild child. He learned their names, Nikki and Neil, and they seemed awfully familiar. Also Wolfie and Shakey would not calm down about them. 

Max figured out that most, if not all, of the other campers had soulmarks. Nikki told him she had them on her shoulder, and Neil had them on his palms, hidden by bandages that he claimed were more difficult to take off then gloves. 

Most of them had the marks in places that were easy to hide with clothing, but some of them had them on their hands or necks, like Ered and Nurf. They hadn’t told him, but they kept bandages over them constantly. Max also assumed that was the reason Harrison wore gloves all the time. He guessed Space kid was directly trying to hide his, but he wore his ‘space suit’ over most his body, so they were. Max was pretty sure Gwen had some, hidden under the sock that was a lot longer than the other.

They never really talked soulmates and soul families, but when they did, there were mixed reactions. 

Nikki, for example, would go on and on about her soul family, and where her marks were, but she would never describe her marks, say how many, or show them off. 

Max had heard Nerris talk about her soulmates before, and how they would play DND with her. Neil would sometimes refer to his soulmates with the names he called them. 

None of them ever specified how many or would show them. Nobody ever pressured them about it.

Max never talked about his soulmates, everyone assumed he didn’t have any.

Some noticed when he would occasionally would swat at thin air. Out of those few, some have all assumed he was swatting at bugs, but others recognized how he would sometimes jerk off balance for no reason, or almost trip of thin air. 

They never said anything.

**Author's Note:**

> Max has eleven soulmates that help him whenever he needs it, that watch over him. Who would’ve though they’d be the idiots at his summer camp.
> 
> All comments and kudos are appreciated!


End file.
